Victoria robocall protest rally attracts hundreds

Hundreds of protestors marched from Centennial Square to the Legislature on Sunday afternoon, calling for an inquiry into robocalls made during last year’s federal election.

The Victoria rally was held along with others across the country. The movement, led by a group called Leadnow.ca, aims to bring attention to the robocalls which misled voters last spring.

“Canadians want by-elections, accountability and an inquiry at some point,” said rally organizer Jocelyn Samek. “If we’re having fraudulent elections, obviously that’s a huge problem because there would be no point in having elections.”

Samek started the Victoria event on Facebook six days before the actual rally date and quickly saw many join in support.

The rally was about joining in solidarity and setting up networks to discuss the issue, she said.

“It’s an opportunity, not just for Canadians but for British Columbians, to tighten up our election process and make it safe,” she said.

“Citizens getting together (is the) most critical part in deciding what do we want safety for (the) Elections Act to look like in this age of technology… because sometimes things made on paper a long time ago aren’t keeping up with the technology that’s in place.”

Since the rally, a Victoria work group has been set up as well as a new Facebook page, to allow the community to talk further about the issue and to share their ideas, Samek said.

Fellow event organizer, Larry Wartel, said the turnout at the rally “shows there’s a little bit of indignation and concern” in Victoria.

“People know that there’s active votes being suppressed,” he said.

He hopes people will continue to follow Leadnow.ca actions and attend meetings and rallies. “It’s literally the end of democracy here if we can’t trust our voting system.”